Rain
by Rikka-chan
Summary: IN PROCESS OF BEING REVISED. Aoshi saves a mysterious young girl from commiting sucide and starts to get feelings he hadn't experienced in years, he doesn't even know her name. The Aoiya is suddenly taken over by a drug lord during his absence.
1. Chapter 1

**Rain**

By: Cereis

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own RK

…..though I'd love to own Aoshi :wicked smile:

Misao glares from the sidelines.

This is my first fic, so don't be too mean. I know my English sucks, but I'm working on

it!

Chapter One

Rain.

It eased his mind, relaxed him.

Aoshi Shinomori was walking through the rain in hopes of clearing his mind. His last mission didn't turn out quite the way he had expected. His so called simple mission of breaking up a local drug ring ended up getting him and his four most loyal followers, also his most trusted friends, involved in the break up of one of the biggest drug rings in Tokyo. Though successful, it took up much more time and effort than he would have liked. Also, because of one of his rare moments of carelessness, he now spotted a new scar on his left shoulder, the doings of their ringleader, Izumi Naguchi. He of course took care of the inflictor of that scar. His men had injuries of their own, but they were mostly minor.

He stopped walking and lifted his face to the sky, letting the cool beads of water stream down his face, easing some of the tension in his body. He let out a sigh of relief and continued on his way.

Hannya and the others were probably wondering where he had been the whole day anyways.

He continued, treading down forest path as the clearing that lead to the bridge came into view. He halted at the edge of the bridge.

He saw a child clutching the railing, hands shaking, as she slowly climbed to stand on it. She stood by holding on to a post that extended above the railing while looking down at the raging water beneath her. Looking on in a trance, she didn't seem to have noticed him.

He hesitated before he took a couple of steps towards her direction.

"Suicide isn't the most honorable death." He spoke clearly, but gently so as not to frighten the girl.

Her head snapped in his direction, a look of fear strewn across her face.

"You have no business here, please leave." She said shakily.

He hesitated again.

She reminded him of someone he once new. But whom? He simply brushed the thought aside.

He slowly took a couple more steps towards her. She grasped the post more tightly, knuckles looking deathly white against the dark colored kimono she wore. Closer up, he realized that she was not a child, but a teenager, probably in her mid teens.

"Why do you wish to end your life?"

Despite the rain, she noticed the piercing ice blue-green eyes of the man speaking to her. She looked at him warily before hesitantly answering, "If you knew what my life was like, then you wouldn't think twice before doing this."

"Maybe so… but I'd rather live than kill myself."

She snorted at his words.

"Being enslaved to a family against your will, nearly getting raped countless of times, and getting beaten by those slave drivers everyday isn't exactly the prime type of lifestyle. I'd rather end the pain now than keep on living." She said bitterly.

She stood up straighter, turning to face him while shaking her arm at him yelling, "You would never understand the troubles I have to go through everyday. You're a man. Men don't nearly have half as much trouble as women do to live these days. Men are at the top of society while we're the trash at the bottom. Women mean nothing to anyone nowadays, except for using them to pay off debts or 'having a bit of fun'."

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped suddenly, catching the girl off guard, causing her to slip and fall over the railing.

"Eeek!"

Aoshi dove over the railing, catching the girl, and bracing for impact as they hit water.

The girl looked in shocked as the man dove for her and caught her, attempting to shield her from the force of the water.

Why? Why is he doing this? He doesn't even know me…

The last thing she remembered before passing out was looking at the man's piercing blue eyes and the odd comfort she felt as he grabbed her in his arms.

The moment they hit the water, the girl passed out. Aoshi, still holding onto her desperately swam towards the shore. He may have enjoyed the rain, but swimming in a river during a storm wasn't his idea of a relaxing swim.

"Kuso", he cursed as a wave slapped him in the face for the third time in under twenty seconds.

After fifteen minutes, he managed to get them both to shore. He immediately turned towards the girl and checked to see if she was alive. It would have been a shame if she had drowned to death while Aoshi had jumped in after her to save her life. The sound of soft breathing brought some relief to the ninja.

He quickly gathered the girl into his arms and ran off in search of the hotel he and his comrades were currently staying at. If they stayed any longer out in the rain, there would be a good chance that the both of them would catch a cold.

In about ten minutes, he reached the hotel and took her to his room. After he closed the door with his foot, he realized that she was slightly shaking and deathly pale. He squatted on the ground to get a netter grip on her and put a hand to her forehead. She was burning hot with a fever. He gently laid her on the ground while going to fetch some clean towels, a sleeping yukata, some blankets, and a bowl of cold water.

He hesitated before starting to remove her kimono. A small tinge covered his nose when he realized that she certainly wasn't a child. He looked away while he dried her off, fearing that Kami-sama might strike him down might he look at her again. After doing so, he slipped his sleeping yukata onto her small form, laid her down onto his futon, and buried her in blankets. He then took a small washcloth, dipped it in the water, and placed it on top of her forehead. Her breathing was uneasy and sweat started to form on her brow. She moved slightly, a look of discomfort on her face.

Every once in a while, he would re-dip the washcloth in the water and replace it on her forehead. After a while, he checked her forehead again. Her fever had gone down to only a slight fever.

He sighed in relief before lying down on the floor near her and passing out himself.

_Without warning, Naguchi was immediately behind him in the air, his sword came slashing down at his back._

_Aoshi nimbly dodged his attacked and skidded to the side. Out of the corner of his eye, a group of silver flying objects could be seen soaring at him. _

_Kunai._

_He turned and blocked them with his kodachi._

_Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his left shoulder._

_One of the kunai had passed on top and through his shoulder, going about half an inch deep._

_Angry at his carelessness, he charged his opponent, releasing his ultimate attack on him and killing him instantly._

_He sliced the air, removing the blood off his twin kodachis and re-sheathed them._

He jerked up in a small sweat.

He dreamed about his carelessness of getting injured. It angered him that he let his guard down for a split second, confidently thinking that Naguchi would never be able to pull off an attack like that.

Never say never.

He looked over at the girl sleeping soundly on his futon.

Now getting a good look at her, he studied her features. She had a slim, girlish face and long dark hair. Her bangs moved slightly in her face as she breathed deep breaths. He was right; she looked like she was in her mid teens, perhaps sixteen, seventeen at most despite her girlish looks. She looked so peaceful compared to the shaking girl standing on the bridge railing the night before. She was quite attractive for someone of her age. He felt somewhat like a perverted old man thinking that being twenty-seven years old. Not to mention, she looked somewhat of a girl he once knew and helped raised long ago…

That thought again.

He frowned as he tried to remember, but his mind came up blank.

He sighed in defeat and studied her again.

Meanwhile in a another room not far away…

"Hannya, who was that girl? Aoshi-sama never brought a girl to his room before." a large man with dark skin asked anxiously.

The man he asked who wore a white mask just looked out the window in silence.

"Aoshi-sama isn't that type of man." Replied a tall man with bulging muscles that looked as though they were as hard as rock.

"The girl was unconscious and drenched. He probably found her and decided to help her, the noble thing to do."

"But you never know, maybe he just wanted a little fun." The large man said again.

"Please!" The muscular man retorted.

"From what I saw, the girl was quite the looker, but a little young if I do say so myself." A small man with spiky hair said in a dark corner.

"See? Even Beshimi agrees with me!"

"Hyottoko, how long have we been with Aoshi-sama, and you still don't know him yet?" The muscular man said scoldingly.

"He's done it before Shikijou!" the man known as Hyottoko replied.

"Yes, but discreetly, unlike what he did last night."

The man in the mask, Hannya, started to rub his temples. Their arguing was starting to give him a headache. He slowly started to meld in with the shadows and disappeared. He swiftly made it for the door and left unnoticed for the time being. He needed to get away from their bellowing.

" Well you know what!" Hyottoko yelled.

"I think your arguing drove Hannya-san away." Beshimi cut in.

"Huh?" the two looked towards the window.

Hyottoko's face suddenly paled.

"Oh no…. I hope he doesn't tell Aoshi-sama what I was saying…"

Shikujo snorted as his words.

"Well, I'm going, it's time to train. I've to keep these beauties in shape." He said flexing and kissing his muscle.

He paused looking at it.

"Perfection." He muttered to himself.

He picked up his bag and left.

When the door shut, the other two looked at each other and laughed.

well, that's a wrap!

...i hope you all liked my fic...

please be nice...

!REVEIW REVIEW REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Rain**

By : Cereis

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own RK

Thank you for all who reviewed! I'm sooooooo happy that you guys liked my story!

I was so worried that everyone was gonna hate it... thankfully, i was wrong! I hope that i'll be able to write up to your standards: )

* * *

Chapter Two

**Back in Aoshi's room**

The girl twitched slightly and slowly started to open her eyes.

Her body hurt all over. She slowly started to take in her surroundings.

_Where am I?_

It looked like she was in a hotel room. Still lying down, she looked out the window to her right to see the blue sky.

She looked to her left and noticed a man laying down about five feet away from her, staring at her.

She froze.

"AAAIIIIIEEEEEE!"

She scrambled onto her hands and knees and backed into a corner, taking the blankets with her.

"Who the hell are you and where am I?" she yelled angrily and frantically at the man.

The man smirked at her actions.

Her eye twitched at his smirk.

"What's so funny!"

He shook his head at her.

She partially blushed, finally taking a good look at the man. He had black hair with bangs that fell attractively into his piercing eyes.

Piercing blue green eyes that seem to have somewhat of an icy air about them.

_Where have I seen those eyes before...?_

Then she remembered.

She tried to kill herself the day before and the man in front of her saved her life.

_But why?_

A look of confusion covered her face.

"Why… did you save me?"

"A pretty young girl like you doesn't deserve to die so early."

She blushed at his words. The look in his eyes didn't help her at all.

Then she remembered hearing him call her a young girl.

Her eye twitched at that thought.

"I'm eighteen I'll have you know!"

_Eighteen, huh? _

She was much older than what he had expected.

Anger immediately came over her, remembering the scene from the night before. " I told

you my life's not worth living anymore. You should have just let me drown." Said

looking at the ground.

"That answer's not good enough for me. You seem like a strong girl, why did you give in? Running away from your troubles will do nothing."

"You're a man, you wouldn't understand."

"Then make me understand."

-She went on with her story for about half an hour. -

"There, now do you understand!" She said to him softly, no longer looking at him withtears rolling down her face.

"Like I told you before, being enslaved to a family against your will, nearly getting raped countless of times, and getting beaten by those slave drivers everyday isn't exactly every girl's dream."

He looked at her, motionless.

Her story had moved him, but he believed that with a fighting spirit like hers, she could easily take them on.

He sighed and slowly came up to her and knelled in front of her. He brought a hand up to her cheek, his thumb wiping away her tears.

He looked into her eyes and replied to her softly.

"Then the more you should have a reason to fight."

Her eyes widened slightly.

Blue.

Sea-foam blue.

Looking into her eyes, he all of a sudden had the urge to kiss her. Before he knew what he was doing, his head slowly started to move her closer to hers.

She had such nice eyes; they were the color of the ocean.

She started to blush at how close he was getting.

_Is…is he going to kiss me...?_

Her heart started to pound.

She too suddenly had he urge to kiss him.

_Wait! What am I doing! Men can't be trusted, I can't kiss him!_

She looked into his eyes again.

_…but how can I resist?_

He didn't even know this girl, and yet he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her senseless till her tears stopped and she forgot her sorrows.

He grew closer and closer.

His lips were about an inch away and growing closer even more so. He could hear his heart pounding. She licked her lips, her tongue barely grazing his lip, so lightly, he wasn't sure if he had imagined it, or if she had really touched him. He could feel her breath on his lip.

But she took his hand off her cheek.

"You still don't get it do you?" she whispered under her breath, bowing her head down.

His eyes widened and he pulled back his hand as if he were burned.

_What was I trying to do!_

All of a sudden a flashback of a young girl of eight years old with black hair and sea-foam eyes came to mind. A gentle, kind-hearted girl with a lot of energy and a knack for getting into trouble.

_What was that flash back? Who was that girl? _

He couldn't quite remember.

He pushed the memory aside and came back to the subject at hand.

"You have a lot of energy and strong will power. I can sense it just by how you were yelling at me." _And by how you resisted me._

"…you…somewhat remind me of a girl I once knew..." , he said softly

"Well, that girl and I are not the same person."

He frowned.

That seemed pretty obvious now. Who ever the girl from his flashbacks was, there's no way the person currently before him could be the same one. The girl in his memories would never give in to people who manhandled the girl before him today. She would fight for her rights till she won.

He sighed.

The girl looked back at him, giving him bitter looks but stopped.

What's that look on his face? It that sadness? 

Anger crossed her face.

_Well I don't want his pity!_

"Don't you dare feel bad for me. I don't want anyone's pity."

He just looked at her.

_Well then, if she has this kind of fire, why doesn't she use it against those who were enslaving her?_

"I don't pity you. I just wonder why you don't use the strength you obviously have to fight against those who enslaved you?"

"Are you dense? Fighting against them means putting my family in jeopardy! Why am I even telling you this! You're just like any other man. Men are scum that love to make life miserable for everyone else in the world. You probably don't even care about me. You're probably just waiting to make a move on me and have _your_ fun." She said scornfully looking at him then at the ground.

When she looked up, she saw a fist flying at her.

"AAHHH!"

She threw her arms up across her face to brace for impact, but the hit never came.

:CRACK:

The fist landed left of her head, cracking the wall and causing dust to fly around them.

She slowly lifted her head and was greeted with angry face.

He wanted to smack her.

_I risked my self out there for her, and this is how she thanks me! By telling me that I'm pig who just wants to do her!_

Anger was strewn across his face.

"You think I'd risk my life for someone just so I could fuck them? If you truly think that, then you really are a stupid girl." He spoke low and deep in her face.

He got up and turned his back to her.

_…I hate to admit it, but he does have a point. No one would be that stupid._

Regaining the use of her voice, she shakily asked, "Then why did you save me?"

He paused.

_Why did I save her?_

He wasn't quite sure, so he said the first thing that came to mind the night of the incident.

"I'll admit, when I first saw you, I had no intentions of doing anything… but after I saw how young you were, I thought it was a shame for you to die so young. There is so much for you to live for."

(the girl's thoughts)

_So much to live for? Ha! _

_That was a good one. Getting beaten and grouped everyday is so something to look forward to._

"But, for all the trouble you're worth, maybe I should have just let you drown in the river."

She glared at him.

"Hmph, maybe you should have. I didn't ask for your help anyways."

Aoshi's fists were shaking and his knuckles were starting to turn white.

_What an ungrateful little-_

Controlling his anger, he paused for a couple of moments before he spoke to her one last time.

"I suggest you leave before I make any rash decisions."

"Gladly."

The girl got up and left out the door. Her stomping could be heard down the hall.

Aoshi punched the wall again. That girl made him so mad.

Sure, her life seemed bad, but nothing that she couldn't overcome with that fighting spirit. No wonder those people like to beat her. With a tongue like that, anyone would want to hit her.

_Stupid, ungrateful little girl. I risk my life to save her, take care of her when she had a fever, let her use my futon, not to mention, she walked out wearing MY sleeping yukata. The nerve of her._

After a couple of minutes, he regained his temper.

For some reason, he still couldn't help be feel a little worried. She had just gotten over a fever. She was in no health to be stomping about like that.

He didn't even know her name….

The flashback of him beings close to her, almost kissing her came back to mind. He could feel her breath, almost taste her. He could hear both of their hearts pounding.

He shook his head.

He hadn't touched a woman in years.

Feeling his heart beating like that and being so close to her gave him an urge of wanting more.

It's a wonder how I didn't miss those feeling all these years…

A knock soon came to his door.

He sighed before replying.

"Come in."

A man with a mask entered his room.

"Aoshi-sama" the man said, going down on one knee and bent his head.

"Hannya."

Hannya got up and knelled in front of Aoshi.

"I couldn't help but notice that you came home late last night," he spoke hesitantly, "and with a girl, no less."

Aoshi thought of the girl again…the thoughts of him almost kissing her fresh in his mind.

"If I'm not too forward, who was that girl? If I'm not mistaken, she looked similar to young Misao, the late okashira's daughter."

_Misao! That right. That was the name of the little girl he was having flashbacks of. How could he forget? He helped raise the child. She followed him everywhere, always wanting to play with him, wanting him to teach her kempo. He frequently made paper origami cranes for her._

"Yes…she does have some of the same features as Misao… but Misao lives in Kyoto with the rest of the Oniwabanshuu."

"Yes… well about the Aoiya," Hannya shifted to his side to pull out a scroll of paper.

" I just recently received a telegram by pigeon this morning on my walk. I noticed it fluttering around several other birds eating seeds on the ground. It was by chance that I noticed the scroll on its leg." He passed the note to Aoshi.

"The telegram network is starting to loose it's efficiency."

"Aa." Aoshi mumbled while opening the scroll.

It came from Okina.

_Aoshi,_

_It's been twelve years._

_I wish that I would be able to bring you good news about the Aoiya and the rest of the Oniwabanshuu, but I'm afraid that we have had some changes here. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances of debt as of recently, the Aoiya has been sold to a wealthy man by the name of Izumi Naguchi. _

Aoshi tensed at that statement.

Naguchi? Didn't I just kill that man not too long ago?

_The remaining Oniwabanshuu and I still live here, but we are all employed by Naguchi-san. By word of mouth, we have heard of his death. His son, Rikai Nagichi, now controls the Aoiya. Life working under either Naguchi-san or his son is not the greatest, but it gets us by. Also, something doesn't exactly seem completely right. Every week there were meetings in the cellar with Naguchi-san and some other shady looking men. Since his death, Rikai has taken his place. I have done some research and found out that Naguchi-san is the ringleader of one of Japan's top drug rings, dealing with opium. It's worries me, but I don't want to get involve… for Misao's sake. _

Misao…

_Misao isn't exactly having the type of life that I was hoping to give her. She is of age, at eighteen years old._

Eighteen?

_She has had many suitors, but Naguchi-san's son, Rikai, chased them all away. He has had his eye on Misao for quite a while now. There is nothing more that I want than to get Misao married, but Rikai-san is not the right man for her. There have been countless encounters when he has tried to force Misao to do…certain things against her will. Luckily, Shiro-kun or Kuro-kun had been there to help her._

_Aoshi, you are like son to me, and as an old man I have one last request of you. Please, come back to Kyoto, marry Misao, and take her away from here. She deserves a better life. She always had been found of you. Please Aoshi, just do this, for me._

_-Okina_

Marry Misao? How could he marry the girl he helped raise? He had shed too much blood in his lifetime; he would be no good for her. She would need some one who wouldn't corrupt her purity.

Someone other than him.

But, he couldn't leave the Aoiya the way it was now.

_Every week there were meetings in the cellar with Naguchi-san and some other shady looking men. Since his death, Rikai has taken his place._

So the chase begins again.

Kyoto.

He would have to investigate about that.

It was settled.

He would go back to Kyoto, break down the Naguchi ring, permanently, and take back the Aoiya.

He had made quite a sum of money from his last mission and numerous other missions he and his trusted four had been on. He would give the money to Okina to pay off the debts.

And later on, he would find a good suitor for Misao.

"Aoshi-sama?"

Knocked out of his thoughts he looked up at Hannya. He had completely forgotten that he was in the room.

"Tomorrow we head back to Kyoto."

Hannya was taken aback.

"Kyoto?"

Aoshi sensed Hannya's surprise.

"It seems that Naguchi has some unfinished business there."

Hannya nodded his head.

"We will leave tomorrow at sunrise."

"Understood"

Hannya melded back into the shadows and left the room to tell the others of what was in store.

* * *

Ok! that's the end of chapter two! I hope you all like it...and hopefully, you'll review again: ) 

So please...

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

- Cereis out


	3. Chapter 3

**Rain**

By : Cereis

(or Rikka-chan since that's my account name)

OMGEE! I'm am sooooooooooo sorry for not update in like, forever! i planned on updateing two weeks back, on monday, but school started and i got super busy. My computer at home is retarted and can't go online, so i have to update my mom's office with the super cool kick ass computer with DSL! I was planning on updating once a week...that plan failed horribly. heh heh...Please, if you could all forgive me...

So anyways, if ths story has some errors in it,...I'M SORRY! I proof-readed this chapter two weeks ago, so i'm not so sure if it's perfect yet...but i don't want to keep yall waiting...so...at least you can have the chapter with errors in it rather than getting a month from now, right?

Now on with the story!

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own RK

Chapter Three

"Itai!"

The girl had cried out in pain from falling on the ground for the umpteenth time.

"I just had to take the forest path, didn't I" she said while rubbing her arm while continuing to walk while carrying a small package under her arm in a sling bag.

It was getting dark outside. She had been walking all day. Maybe in an hour or so she would reach the outskirts of Kyoto.

Not to mention, she was wearing a yukata. A men's sleeping yukata that was too big for her, causing her to trip every couple of minutes.

Despite it's inconvenience, it smelled pretty damn good.

Memories of her close encounter with the man who saved her came back to mind. She could smell him, the fresh scent of the outdoor, incense, and green tea, all oddly mixed in one. It smelled so good, it intoxicated her. It teased her senses and twisted her thinking. His piercing blue eyes didn't help her state of mind at the time either. They were so deep, enticing. She had never been looked at so intensely before. It made her melt on the inside. No man had ever looked like that at her before. And to think, she almost gave into that.

Thank Kami-sama that I came back to my senses at that last minute. Who knows what could have happened if I didn't come back to reality.

But despite everything, something was different about him than all the other guys.

She also felt a little bit of regret that she didn't kiss him.

_ARG! I can't think that! No men can be trusted except for Shiro, Kuro, Okina, Hannya and the guys, and…Aoshi-sama._

Pushing those thoughts aside, she continued on her way and her current problems.

She sighed.

"How can this get any worse!"

Something wet and cool all of a sudden fell on her face.

"Huh?"

She wiped it off and looked at it.

Water? 

:GUUUSSSSHHHHH:

Rain all of a sudden came down in sheets.

"Just had to say it, didn't I?"

She kept on walking.

:time passes:

"Uhh…"

The girl was walking down the final path to the back way to the Aoiya.

"Almost there….can't give up…al…..almost…the…."

A dizzy bout came over the girl and she passed out.

At the Aoiya

"I wonder what's taking Misao so long, she should have been back by noon today…"

"She probably got a little lost, nothing to worry about Okon."

"But still… Oh Shiro, I just get so worried about her sometimes. What if someone tried to kidnap her… or she got hurt, or-"

"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Omasu said.

"No one can take on Misao, she's Oniwabanshuu, the daughter of Makimachi-san, she'd hurt them before they could hurt her." Kuro joined.

"But still," Okon paused, "the way she's been acting lately, it's been a little different than out of the ordinary…"

"Yea, and the way she said good bye before she left, it was as if she was never going to see us again…" Kuro added.

"You don't think she'd try to do something drastic, do you?" Okon said worriedly.

"No! of course not, this is Misao were talking about! She would never do anything like that!" Shiro scolded.

"You two should know better!" Omasu added in.

"…I guess you two are right. Misao isn't that kind of person." Okon agreed.

"Well, it's getting late, we all better go to bed before Rikai starts yelling at us for being out doors this late at night." Kuro said looking at how high the moon was.

"Ok." They all agreed

Omasu and Okon headed for their rooms in one direction while Kuro and Shiro went to theirs.

"I think I'll take a quick pit stop at the bath house before I go back, I think I left one of my gi's there." Shiro whispered over to Kuro while passing Rikai's room.

"Ok, see you in the morning then." Kuro whispered back, walking off towards his room waving his hand.

"Later."

Shiro walked off in the direction of the bathhouse.

He started grumbling.

_Shit, if Rikai catches me out here, it's cleaning the kitchen alone for a month…That gi better be in there or else._

The bathhouse started to come into view.

Finally.

His hand almost touched the doorknob when he heard a thud come from behind the bathhouse.

_What the hell?_

He slowly started to walk to the side of the small building, taking a peek around the corner.

He saw nothing.

"What the heck?"

He took a step forward and almost tripped.

Him being the good ninja he was caught himself in mid air.

:thud:

Him being lax in his training caused him to fall on his butt when he landed on a baseball sized stone.

"Itai!" he shout whispered to himself.

He picked up the stone and threw it into the woods.

_Damn stone…what the hell did I trip on anyways…_

He looked around and noticed a lump on the ground.

The way the moon shone on it gave it an eerie shadow. He shuddered a little bit.

He looked at it for a moment and realized that it moved slightly up and down.

Then he realized that it was alive.

He moved a little closer to it.

It had a long tail…looked kinda like a…a braid…

_A braid?_

"Huh?"

He crawled over even closer.

_Misao?_

_It is Misao!_

"Misao! What the heck are you doing out here? And why are you so late!" he once again shout whispered.

"Misao?" he poked her.

"Misao, wake up." He poked again.

"Misao. Misao, wake up." He poked her harder.

"Misao!" he hit her arm.

Bad move.

"Itai!"

Shiro scooted back from Misao, nursing his left arm.

Damn! She's still got skill, even in her sleep! 

He rolled his writ to check if it was broken. Thankfully, it was not.

Misao had grabbed Shiro's arm in reflex as he tried to hit her arm to wake her up and twisted his wrist painfully, but not enough to break it. It happened every once in a while when some one attemps to wake her up when she was really, really tired.

:flashback:

_Shiro, a young teenager, was walking by the training room and noticed that Misao had passed out from training, a wooden tanto still in hand. Aoshi came up from behind him to wake her up and take her to her room. He followed close behind._

_"Misao. Misao, wake up." Aoshi prodded her gently, " You'll catch a co-"_

_Aoshi was stopped in mid sentence, ducking to left._

_Unfortunately, Shiro wasn't quite as lucky. It hit him square in the forehead._

_"Itai!" He grabbed his fore head in pain and sat on the ground._

_Misao had thrown the tanto that was in her hand and had some how aimed it quite accurately at Aoshi's head. Shiro's just happened to be in tge wrong place at the wrong time._

_"Are you ok?"Aoshi said looking over at him._

_"Yea…but I think I'm gonna get a bump. Man that hurt! Misao, that wasn't funny!"_

_Shiro said looking at Misao. But Misao was still deep asleep, as if nothing ever happened._

_"Huh?"_

_"I think she did that on reflex…in her sleep. How unusual." Aoshi said, impressed looking at the bump that was starting to form on Shiro's head._

_"That was pretty accurate too."_

_"You're telling me, I'm the one that got the full blow." Shiro said rubbing head again._

_"Hm, I guess that's just a glimpse of what her true talent is going to be like in the future."_

_"I guess so, then I better watch out."_

_"Aa."_

_Aoshi turned back to Misao, gently picked her up, and walked out of the room._

:end flashback:

He smiled at the memory.

_Oh well, I guess I'm lucky that she didn't have any kunai in her hand. Last time it took a whole week for the bump to go away._

He could only imagine what could have happened if kunai were in her hand.

He gently picked Misao up this time, so as not to trigger her reflexes and headed toward her room.

**An hour till dawn the next day**

Aoshi's eyes fluttered open, as if he were just resting them instead of sleeping.

The early call of a bird in the morning had woken him up. He had always been a light sleeper.

He sat up and looked out the window. It was dark still; it was probably about one hour before sunrise.

He got up and stretched for a couple of minutes before planting himself back on the ground to meditate.

It was going to be a long day, a one-day non-stop trip to Kyoto on foot.

His last thoughts before falling into a dreamless sleep were about what he was going to do about Naguchi…and the girl whom he had saved.

Why did he keep on thinking about her?

She was an unthankful ingrate.

_A cute one at that._

Woah! Where'd that though come from?

Both of their hearts had been pounding. Hers maybe even more so.

He could remember exactly how they were. A look that contained a little bit a fear, yet a little bit of wanting at the same time covered her face. Her breath had picked up a little and he could hear both of their hearts pounding. Her lips, small and plush, anxiously waiting to be kissed. He could only imagine what her lips on his would feel like…and what they could-HOLD THAT THOUGHT!

Nothing even happened and he was already getting aroused.

He had better stop before his 'little kodachi' decided to visit the world again after so many years. (a/n: I'm not quite sure who's fic I got that from, but I hope you don't mind that I used it, I just couldn't resist… if you don't like me using it, tell me and I'll remove it from the story)

Shaking his head, he attempted to clear his thoughts of that girl.

_How shameless…I don't even know her name…_

He focused on clearing his thought for a couple of moments and brought the current problem at hand to mind. What was he going to do about Naguchi and his remaning ring members? He could easily slay them all in the middle of the night, but that would cause to big of a scene. A big time restaurant chain owner mysteriously killed in the middle of the night! He could see the headlines now. No doubt that Oniwabanshuu would probably be blamed for their deaths because of Rikai Naguchi's infatuation with Misao.

Misao… 

_I wonder what she's like now… If she's eighteen and has lots of suitors, she must have become quite beautiful… _

_I cannot forget to find her a suitable husband. I'll deal with that ordeal after Naguchi is taken care of._

He looked out the window again and noticeed the sky start to slightly lighten. He got up and went to change out of his clothes.

He also noticed that he was still wearing the same slothes that he used the day he saved that girl.

_That girl…_

Ok now, lets back away from those dangerous thoughts.

He changed into a pair of dark blue loose pants and a button up longs sleeve shirt. (a/n:kinda like the outfit he wore when he fought Kenshin at the Kyoto Arc during the Shishio saga)

He slipped on his traditional beige trench coat and slung his twin kodachi sheath over his shoulder. He slipped on his shoes, packed up any loose belongings into his small bag, and hitched it out of the room.

He went down to the reception area and exited the inn. He looked around and noticed that no one was there yet. It was still a little bit early, so he looked for an open teashop near by.

Luckily he found one that just opened up two shops down from the inn.

He entered the shop and took a seat. A young woman came up to him to take his order.

"Good morning sir, is their anything you would like to order?"

"A cup of green tea please."

She smiled at him, "Coming right up."

He nodded his head in response and she walked away. He took a moment to take a good look around. The shop was small, quite cozy. There was no else in the shop besides him next to the people who worked there.

He noticed the girl come back with a cup on a small dish. He handed her the amount of money it costed and she left saying thank you with a smile.

He sat there, peacefully drinking his tea…loosing all concept of time.

**Back at the inn**

"Where's Aoshi-sama?" Shikijou asked stepping out the door.

"It's been about twenty minutes since sun rise and he's never late."

"I dunno." Replied Hyottoko.

"Me neither", replied Beshimi.

"I don't have the slightest clue." said Hannya.

They all stood there for a couple of minutes, wondering where on earth the Okashira could be.

"Unless!" they all said minus Hannya at the same time,

"He's-" Hyottoko said,

"out-" Beshimi continued,

"drinking-" Shikijou continued,

"green tea." Hannya finished.

They all sighed.

Only Kami-sama knows the extent of Aoshi's love for green tea.

But, they all knew how long it took him to drink it.

Back at the tea house

Several minutes passed.

Then several more minutes.

Then several more.

And several more.

And a few more.

Finally he noticed that sun was partially up, probably thirty minutes passed sunrise, he chugged the rest of his tea down and swiftly walked back to the entrance of the inn.

He noticed that his loyal four were standing together, conversing about something, when they all suddenly sighed a big sigh.

He came up behind them.

"What's wrong?"

It took all Hyottoko's, Behimi's, and Shikijou's will power not scream.

The three had looks of suppressed fear on their faces.

Hannya just stood there for her noticed Aoshi's presence a slipt second before he reached them.

None of them spoke a word, but just stared at him.

Aoshi, suspicious of the way they were acting, looked at each one of them slowly.

He looked at the sun, noting that it was well past sunrise, decided to drop the subject and get a move on to cover lost ground. It was going to be along day if he planned on getting to Kyoto by nightfall.

"Let us off. We have a long day ahead of us, and we have already lost some valuable time." He started down the road, Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi, and Hyottoko in tow.

* * *

that's the end of chapter 3 yall! i know i didn't update for a long time, but don't forget me! and please...

REVIEW! it keeps me writing. the more the reviews, the more likely that i'll update sooner! so, REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS!

Cereis out


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